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LTTP: Eternal Darkness (OMG, whaaaaaat?)

T

The perfect Dark

Banned
519TB4FC6TL._SY445_.jpg



Okay, I just bought back all the Gamecube games of my childhood. But I also bought some games I haven't played (don't ask me why). One of those games is Eternal Darkness.
I'm a huge survival horror fan. My favorite SH games are Silent Hill 1-4 and Resident Evil REmake and RE 1-3.

This game, while a little bit dated in terms of cutscenes and character models, is absolutely amazing. I've played two hours so far and I can't stop playing. The atmosphere is fantastic, the story is interesting and the gameplay seems very unique (I love the combat). I can't wait to play more. Holy shit...and this game is made by Silicon Knights AND NINTENDO? Where is the successor? I can already tell this game is fucking great by playing the first ten minutes.

Now there is another game I have to put on the list:
Wave Race
1080
F-Zero
Eternal Darkness

Nintendo, what are you doing?
 
S

-Stranger-

Junior Member
Was really good from what i played.
Need to rebuy it as i didn't get very far.

Was originally slated to be a N64 title.
 
Z

Zap Rowsdower

Banned
MAY THE RATS EAT YOUR EYES!

It'd be great if Nintendo could bring it back one day. It could do fine without Silicon Knights, same as Legacy of Kain was better off without them.
 
C

CrunchyB

Member
Yeah, it's pretty good. It looked great back in the day as well, I especially love the camera.

Combat can be a bit clunky, but it's not too bad.
 
P

PSqueak

Banned
magic system is the best, once you figure out what each spell word means, you can start crafting blindly some nifty stuff.
 
D

dlauv

Member
I beat the game thinking I would get some kind of awful status if my psyche meter got too low -- whoops. I cheated myself out of the point of playing I guess. And it was very repetitive game that wasn't scary at all.

I like the kid's cartoon version of Lovecraft (why tho when rated M) and the multiple endings. Great introductory to some cosmic horror concepts.
 
D

dancrane212

Member
Played it for the first time a couple years ago and the game held up incredibly well. My only notable problem is you are punished for being able to see insanity effects and it's way too easy to keep your sanity up.
 
T

The perfect Dark

Banned
dlauv said:
I beat the game thinking I would get some kind of awful status if my psyche meter got too low -- whoops. I cheated myself out of the point of playing I guess. And it was very repetitive game that wasn't scary at all.

I like the kid's cartoon version of Lovecraft (why tho when rated M) and the multiple endings. Great introductory to some cosmic horror concepts.
Click to expand...

It's not scary (so far) but it has a creepy atmosphere. I love it. Not every horror game needs to be scary.
 
V

Vyse24

Member
I would love to see a sequel that takes advantage of the Switch features. Have a moment where the game stops and asks you to tap the required amiibo which doesn't exist, or have the HD rumble go off without warning.
 
S

sphinx

the piano man
sadly, I remember back in the day, stores couldn't get rid of all those copies, it was massively overshipped and people didn't react to the good reviews.

the norm was to find Eternal Darkness at bargain bin prices

tragic, cause it's oneof the most interesting story(ies) of that generation.

Amazing story telling
 
X

Xenoblade

Member
I played it at launch and never really got into it. Game seemed bad compared to some of the other offerings at the time, at least to me anyway. I'm surprised it has the following it has. Glad you enjoy it OP.
 
Z

zoodoo

Member
The sanity mechanic was really innovative back then. I replayed it many times and got all the endings. Enjoy OP!

This game is unique and a one of a kind.

"Like it or not, your perception won't change the reality" Edgar Allen Poe (Quoted from the game)
 
D

dlauv

Member
PSqueak said:
It's pretty gorey.
Click to expand...

My point is why aim for an M rating when you're offering a children's show version of Lovecraft as your story?

The perfect Dark said:
It's not scary (so far) but it has a creepy atmosphere. I love it. Not every horror game needs to be scary.
Click to expand...

I meant that when your psyche meter gets low it's supposed to get scary, and I didn't experience too much of that because I was afraid I'd lose health or something.
 
K

kogasu

Member
Yeah I love this game a lot!

Gameplay is ok for me. Hit and miss at times but story and voice acting were top notch and I always thought the magic system was cool as hell. I like to go back to it every so often.
 
T

The perfect Dark

Banned
dlauv said:
My point is why aim for an M rating when you're offering a children's show version of Lovecraft as your story?



I meant that when your psyche meter gets low it's supposed to get scary, and I didn't experience too much of that because I was afraid I'd lose health or something.
Click to expand...

Ah, okay. I'm not that far into the game (two hours).

But It's pretty cool that you can save any time.
 
V

Vulcano's assistant

Banned
dlauv said:
My point is why aim for an M rating when you're offering a children's show version of Lovecraft as your story?
Click to expand...

I mean their intention wasn't just to do Lovecraft-lite, they wanted to make a horror game that will attract the hardcore and chose cosmic horror as the setting. But with all that it was still an exclusive on a Nintendo console.

That said, the stories the game takes the most from, like At the Mountains of Madness, aren't really darker than the game. ED just has a bit more cartoony characters.
 
J

JasonUresti

Member
Vulcano's assistant said:
I mean their intention wasn't just to do Lovecraft-lite, they wanted to make a horror game that will attract the hardcore and chose cosmic horror as the setting. But with all that it was still an exclusive on a Nintendo console.

That said, the stories the game takes the most from, like At the Mountains of Madness, aren't really darker than the game. ED just has a bit more cartoony characters.
Click to expand...

Correct. I question how much of Lovecraft's work someone has read if they think ED is a "kids cartoon" version of it.

And Lovecraft's characters are much thinner than anything you see in this game.
 
T

The perfect Dark

Banned
milw00kiee said:
I was just thinking last week about how I wished I still had this game or had finished it back in the day.
Click to expand...

Just buy it again. If you don't have a GC you can play it on the Wii.
Imo GC games have aged pretty well. It's pretty much Wii graphics. They look great with component cables.
Great games don't age.
 
Yautja_Warrior

Yautja_Warrior

Member
One of my favourite Gamecube games and a fantastic survival horror game. Shame there was never a sequel.

I loved how the game messed with you, I'm surprised more horror games didn't try to use this mechanic, as it was very effective.
 
V

Vulcano's assistant

Banned
JasonUresti said:
Correct. I question how much of Lovecraft's work someone has read if they think ED is a "kids cartoon" version of it.

And Lovecraft's characters are much thinner than anything you see in this game.
Click to expand...

I would say, the only thing that is less kid friendly in his stories is the old-timey scientific jargon some of them have. Which I imagine a kid would have no idea of what is being said.

edit: Well and the plots in general are not adventure, or for the sake of fun, or even terror for many of them. More of a slow suspense.
 
D

dlauv

Member
JasonUresti said:
Correct. I question how much of Lovecraft's work someone has read if they think ED is a "kids cartoon" version of it.

And Lovecraft's characters are much thinner than anything you see in this game.
Click to expand...

Don't put words in my mouth. The tone is much more suited for children. The gravitas is constantly undercut by comic designs, animation, and dialogue. And the cartoonishness is juxtaposed by abundant gore and psychological horror.

I said nothing about "characters being more thin," but the opposing cosmic forces presented are less subtle in what they represent, abbreviated in number, and are thus far more digestible: red vs blue vs green.

Also, Lovecraft's use of the English language wasn't very approachable in spite of how much he idolized Poe.

While I have no problem with what the game is on a narrative/tone level, I just find it a strange business decision to not aim for a T rating. Altho I wonder if that has ever mattered much in terms of game sales.
 
P

pete_clarf

Member
I loved it so much when it came out. I actually re-bought it a couple of years ago so I could have it in my collection but haven't played it because I don't want age to tarnish my memories!
 
TheRedSnifit

TheRedSnifit

Member
Not sure if this has been mentioned yet, but if your sanity drops to 0, you'll start taking damage from sanity hits. Which means you can die from getting looked at. Keep an eye on that meter!

Also (I'm too lazy to look up the name spellings):
Ulsoth - Easy mode. Enemies that hit you deplete your magic meter.

Xelolath - Medium. Enemies that hit you deplete sanity. They also sprout "ghost" versions of severed limbs, which do even more damage to sanity.

Whoever the Last Guy Is - Enemies deal extra damage and tank more hits. I think they regrow lost limbs, but it takes a bit of time.
 
V

VDenter

Banned
Its secretly the best 3rd person horror game ever made. Nintendo could have had a epic horror franchise on their hands but they fucked it up because its Nintendo.
 
F

Flipyap

Member
JasonUresti said:
Correct. I question how much of Lovecraft's work someone has read if they think ED is a "kids cartoon" version of it.
Click to expand...
When people broadly reference Lovecraft they usually aren't talking about The Cats of Ulthar.
It's a perfectly valid comparison. The devs attempted to mimic his darkest/defeatist stories, but they also wanted to have
power rangers monsters firing laser beams at each other in outer space
. They even treated the concept of sanity loss like a joke. It's really hard to take the game seriously when most of its sanity effects are slapstick gags and meta jokes.
 
O

OryoN

Member
Only two hours in and you are this sold? Man, you're in for quite a ride! The game really opens up after the first 3 chapters or so, if memory serves me correctly.

I really loved this game. I still consider it one of the few truly mature games out there, amidst a sea of childish games with a "rated M" tag slapped on somewhere. I like the fact that the playable characters are just a bunch of every-day 'Joes' somehow entangled in the unforseen darkness to come. Oh, and that wretched - yet desired - book! I love how many options you have at your disposal as you learn different spells and their effectiveness, and incorporate them into your play style. It keeps gameplay from feeling too repetitive and encourages the 2nd and 3rd play-through(which - fans will tell you - is a must!).

The story and voice acting keeps you engaged and drawn into the foreboding atmosphere. Be sure to read/listen to those autopsy reports of Maximilian(that's his name, right guys?). You feel the dread and despair he clearly felt, to your very core. All through voice-acting alone. Incredible! I should also add that after all these years later, I still haven't played a game with a better auto-camera than the one in Eternal Darkness. The way it follows the character, zoom, pull out, and/or pans about.....it's a marvel in itself! All that said, this is one of those games that deserved to sell way more than it did. It's a real gem, and I glad you gave it a shot. Enjoy!
 
M

MTC100

Banned
The perfect Dark said:
Holy shit...and this game is made by Silicon Knights AND NINTENDO? Where is the successor? I can already tell this game is fucking great by playing the first ten minutes.
Click to expand...

"You too, will come to understand, fear, as I have."

Silicon Knights went on to create a damn good version of Metal Gear Solid(The Twin Snakes, you should check out btw.) and Too Human after that, which was horrible and I think they are extinct now? ED suffered a bit quality wise because it was in development for the N64 originally.
 
TheRedSnifit

TheRedSnifit

Member
Flipyap said:
When people broadly reference Lovecraft they usually aren't talking about The Cats of Ulthar.
It's a perfectly valid comparison. The devs attempted to mimic his darkest/defeatist stories, but they also wanted to have
power rangers monsters firing laser beams at each other in outer space
. They even treated the concept of sanity loss like a joke. It's really hard to take the game's seriously when most of its sanity effects are slapstick gags and meta jokes.
Click to expand...

To be fair, I don't really think any game has done a particularly good job of emulating Lovecraft. Including the ones people hold up like this and the Souls games.

I don't really mind some of the sanity effects being goofy, but I wish they made more of an effort to keep them from repeating.
 
V

VDenter

Banned
MTC100 said:
"You too, will come to understand, fear, as I have."

Silicon Knights went on to create a damn good version of Metal Gear Solid(The Twin Snakes, you should check out btw.) and Too Human after that, which was horrible and I think they are extinct now? ED suffered a bit quality wise because it was in development for the N64 originally.
Click to expand...

Yeah they probably only had so much time to work with once the decision was made to make it for the GameCube. All the more reason i am still kind of salty that we never got a sequel the possibilities seemed endless and really exciting as where they could potentially take it from here.
 
T

The perfect Dark

Banned
MTC100 said:
"You too, will come to understand, fear, as I have."

Silicon Knights went on to create a damn good version of Metal Gear Solid(The Twin Snakes, you should check out btw.) and Too Human after that, which was horrible and I think they are extinct now? ED suffered a bit quality wise because it was in development for the N64 originally.
Click to expand...

Twin Snakes seems to be a pretty rare game now. It costs 70€ (minimum), is it worth it?

Too Human was terrible, I agree.


Eternal Darkness though. It reminds me of those old survival horror gems. You're starting the game...playing for about ten minutes....and you already know this is something special. You're not going to change the disc, you're not going to play any other game. You will finish this and you'll be sad when it's over.
 
D

dlauv

Member
My fav Silicon Knights game is Blood Omen. I think it's a pretty interesting game to play if you enjoyed this one. Horror-action-adventure by way of Zelda.
 
F

Flipyap

Member
TheRedSnifit said:
I don't really mind some of the sanity effects being goofy, but I wish they made more of an effort to keep them from repeating.
Click to expand...
If the goofy ones were rare, then sure, I wouldn't mind them either. Some of them are really good jokes. It's just that they pop up with such frequency, the game eventually starts to feel like Lovecraft as seen through the lens of Family Guy.
 
J

JasonUresti

Member
dlauv said:
Don't put words in my mouth. The tone is much more suited for children. The gravitas is constantly undercut by comic designs, animation, and dialogue. And the cartoonishness is juxtaposed by abundant gore and psychological horror.

I said nothing about "characters being more thin," but the opposing cosmic forces presented are less subtle in what they represent, and are thus far more digestible: red vs blue vs green.

Also, Lovecraft's use of the English language wasn't very approachable in spite of how much he idolized Poe.

While I have no problem with what the game is on a narrative/tone level, I just find it a strange business decision to not aim for a T rating. Altho I wonder if that has ever mattered much in terms of game sales.
Click to expand...

I'm not putting words in your mouth, I'm saying your grasp and knowledge of HPL appears be limited.

What are these dark, sophisticated stories that reach so far beyond ED that you reference?
 
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